Lyme Disease Science Blog

Lyme disease remains a threat to international travelers to the US

Researchers have primarily studied travel-related illnesses in individuals travelling from high-income countries (such as the United States) to low- and middle-income countries. But now as vector-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, become a growing threat in the USA, researchers are switching their attention to the dangers now faced by travelers visiting the States.

Stoney, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and colleagues analyzed travel history and clinical diagnoses for non-US-resident travellers who visited GeoSentinel clinics between January 1997 and December 2016. These clinics were developed by the International Society of Travel Medicine and the CDC, in an effort to study travel-related morbidity.

According to the authors, out of the 1,222 non-US-resident travellers who were reported ill, 52% were female. The median age was 40, with a range of 0 – 86 years. The most common travelers were from Canada (31%), Germany (14%), France (9%) and Japan (7%).

Study examines risk of acquiring infectious diseases to travellers visiting the United States.

Mosquito-borne infections, like West Nile, dengue and the Zika virus were uncommon. But “Lyme disease was the most frequently reported arthropod-borne disease after travel (42, 4%).”

The authors found that travellers to the USA “acquired a diverse array of mostly cosmopolitan infectious diseases, including nonspecific respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatologic and systemic infections.”

These studies should remind the CDC of the need to prevent tick-borne infections for international travelers. And as Stoney suggests, “Clinicians should consider the specific health risks when preparing visitors to the USA and when evaluating and treating those who become ill.”

1 Reply to "Lyme disease remains a threat to international travelers to the US"

09/24/2018 (1:56 pm)

If the great minds of economics and medicine could cross reference then damage to these vector-borne diseases. There would likely be more of a movement effort toward better testing and treatment protocols.

Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH, is a nationally recognized leader for his expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. For more than 25 years, he has been treating adolescents and adults suffering from Lyme disease.

Introduction

Dr. Daniel Cameron, MD, MPH, is a nationally recognized leader for his expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. For more than 30 years, he has been treating adolescents and adults suffering from Lyme disease.